“Zhang Wei’s thinking is very clear. We can follow this line of thought, especially the legends of human craftsmen and the things she searched for, such as the harvesting and dismemberment of animals. We can pay close attention to those.”
Zhang Qiang tapped the table lightly and said in a serious tone.
He didn't mention that Zhang Wei had brought up our funeral home several times.
He also knew that we had been busy recently and it was impossible for us to solve the problems of everyone who came to us for help.
For example, just a few days ago, we almost died in Heishui Village, and even he couldn't contact us.
“Our investigation is too scattered, focusing only on the cause of death and the scene. If it really is something like forced mutilation or the legend of human sculptors, then we need to re-examine the detailed background information of all the victims, especially their birth dates and times, to see if we can find a pattern in who was chosen!”
I'm not good at analyzing cases, but I do have some authority to speak on folk tales and unorthodox methods.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiang immediately picked up the phone and urgently instructed his subordinates:
Obtain complete household registration and personnel files of all victims, especially their dates of birth!
Just as Zhang Qiang hung up the phone, his cell phone suddenly rang.
A few days later, Zhang Qiang's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly, even showing a hint of disbelief and horror.
“South City Old Street, retired teacher, living alone, unnatural death, left hand missing, Republic of China era brass paperweight.”
He repeated the key information into the microphone, his face growing paler with each word he uttered.
Luo Tianhe and I, who were listening nearby, immediately realized that this was a similar case!
In an instant, Luo Tianhe and I also turned extremely ugly.
These kinds of bizarre cases used to happen only once in a long while.
Zhang Wei had been dead for less than a week, yet it started committing crimes again!
Is it because the ceremony is almost complete, so it was sped up, or is there some other reason we don't know?
Soon, Zhang Qiang hung up the phone, looked at us, and his voice was dry, as if it were sandpaper rubbing together:
"The seventh case occurred in Nancheng Old Street, and the victim was a retired teacher living alone."
At this point, Zhang Qiang's brows furrowed into a deep frown, and he couldn't help but take out a cigarette from his pocket.
He lit the lighter with a snap, took a deep drag, and then continued:
"According to the neighbors, he died suddenly at home from an illness, and everyone thought it was a natural death. But when they were collecting his body, they found that his left hand was missing! The neighbors also said that a week before he died, the old man had been showing off a brass paperweight from the Republic of China era that he had found, and he was very fond of it!"
It matches up.
Sudden death, missing body, old objects!
A new puzzle has been pieced together, and right under our noses.
"We need to go to the scene in Nancheng right now. If that brass paperweight is indeed the triggering medium, we must take control of it immediately! Also, question everyone who has recently been in contact with the old teacher and find out where he got that paperweight!"
Zhang Qiang was clear-headed and knew that there was no time to lose, so we set off immediately, leaving two detectives at the police station to wait for the files and continue to contact the families of other old cases.
The three of us drove the van straight to the old street in the south of the city.
The southern part of the city is an old neighborhood with narrow streets, low houses, and many of them are empty and no longer inhabited.
The crime scene was an old-fashioned single-story house with its own entrance, which had been cordoned off.
Police officers from the local police station and criminal investigators who arrived earlier are busy at work.
When the police saw us arrive, they instinctively tried to stop us, since we hadn't come in a police car, but in a van.
Fortunately, these detectives knew Zhang Qiang and respected him greatly, which allowed us to enter the crime scene.
The deceased, surnamed Wu, was 68 years old, a retired middle school Chinese teacher, and lived alone.
The preliminary autopsy determined the cause of death to be acute myocardial infarction, with the time of death estimated to be late last night.
The staff member who came to collect the water and electricity bills this morning noticed the anomaly. He knocked on the door but received no response. He didn't think much of it at first, assuming the elderly person was simply not home.
However, as he was leaving, he looked out the window and saw the old man lying on the living room floor, which prompted him to notify the community and the police station.
Community workers arrived first, forcibly opened the door, and found that the elderly man was no longer breathing. They then called the funeral home.
The funeral home staff lived nearby, so they arrived quickly.
When the funeral home staff were preparing to put the body into a body bag, they discovered that the old man's left hand was missing!
Moreover, the wound was unusually smooth with almost no bleeding, as if the hand had long since lost its life and would have fallen off with just a light touch!
However, this is completely inexplicable from a medical perspective.
The funeral home staff then realized that this was no normal death, a heart attack or anything like that; it might be a murder. They were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground on the spot.
"So, the crime scene was completely destroyed?"
Zhang Qiang frowned and interrupted the detective's narration.
Immediately, the detective looked embarrassed and nodded.
“That’s right, Inspector Zhang.”
There was nothing that could be done about it, since the first people to arrive at the scene were the community members and the funeral home staff.
Moreover, this is unlike a typical crime scene, with blood everywhere. Anyone with eyes can tell at a glance that this was not a natural death, and no one would dare to touch the body.
In their view, the elderly man had just suffered a sudden illness, and the people in the community knew that he had a history of heart disease.
Zhang Qiang waved his hand, indicating that the detective should go about his business, and then led us to the old man's room.
The room was filled with the unique scent of an old man, as well as the pungent smell of medicinal plasters.
Elderly people are prone to joint pain, so they often use medicated plasters or similar products. This teacher must also be suffering from this problem.
Zhang Qiang scanned the area but found nothing unusual.
He then waved to a detective and asked:
"Where's the paperweight?"
"Here."
The detective led us to the desk in the living room. The desk was old, but it was very clean, which showed that the old teacher was a very respectable person.
There was a felt mat on the table, along with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. The old man must have practiced calligraphy often, as there were many of his elegant and skillful brushstrokes on the table. He truly deserved to be called a Chinese language teacher.
And right next to the inkstone, a brass paperweight lay quietly.
It was about an inch long and two fingers wide, a traditional-colored rectangular piece with a dark patina from years of carving. The engraving was clear, with two short phrases engraved on one side:
With perseverance, even metal and stone can be carved.
It looks like an ordinary paperweight, but it also carries the meaning of encouraging people to persevere.
But when we flipped it over, we discovered something unusual.
Unlike the previous side, this side is engraved with smaller, slightly distorted runes, much like Taoist talismans.
I frowned, not sure if it was because the characters were too small or too blurry, but something felt off to me.
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